Description
Book SynopsisFor more than twenty years, the author has worked at the most popular history museums in the United States, helping millions of people get acquainted with the past. This book translates that experience into an insider's tour of some of the most interesting moments in American history.
Trade Review"Grove's book is both an inspiration and a template for those who want to kick history out of the attic and put it back where it belongs: in the national living room, slightly to the left of the television."—James Norton,
Washington Post"Though he's not fond of battlefield re-enactments, Grove thoroughly enjoys re-creating the past with appropriate objects. Essentially about the author's career in educating with artifacts, his account makes snippets of American history accessible to casual readers, who may learn of the utility of mules, the history of airmail and such miscellanea."—
Kirkus"This semiautobiographical journey of a versatile, peregrinating public historian is instructive and inspirational for museum docents; informative for history buffs, especially those interested in the background of educational institutions outside the academy; and helpful for administrators of public programs. All readers will appreciate the author's learning techniques for eliciting questions, sparking the imagination, and promoting transcultural understanding, as well as his acknowledgement of cultural sensitivity, multiple perspectives, and changing interpretations."—Frederick J. Augustyn Jr., Library Journal
"An engaging, entertaining and educational read."—Bill Schwab,
eMissourian"An enjoyable read."—Bill Markley,
Roundup Magazine"[
A Grizzly in the Mail and Other Adventures in American History] is an invitation for further exploration a guidebook that suggests not just possible sites to visit and explore, but ways in which to think about what's presented."—Karen Carcia,
Wapsipinicon AlmanacTable of ContentsIntroduction
1. Why History?
2. Stepping Back in Time, Almost
3. Challenging History
4. The Everest of Museums
5. Conquering the High Wheeler
6. Does This Make Cotton or Gin?
7. Mary, Not Betsy
8. That Strange Creature the Mule
9. When Houses Talk
10. Water Battle on the Missouri
11. You Can’t Write My History
12. A Grizzly in the Mail
13. Tracking the Buffalo
14. The Cathedral and the Cemetery
15. We’re Flying over Hell Stretch?
16. How Lucky Was Lindy?
17. Passionate Pretenders
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
